Yellen: "No basis for claims that US ignores Indo-Pacific... Looking forward to next year's Korea-US-Japan finance talks"

"National Security Issues Are Non-Negotiable in Public Relations"

Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, stated on the 2nd (local time) that "the Joe Biden administration is fully committed to expanding trade and investment with Indo-Pacific countries." She also expressed anticipation for the first U.S.-Korea-Japan Treasury Ministers' meeting to be held next year.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At a lecture hosted by the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington DC on the same day, Secretary Yellen said, "The claim that the U.S. is neglecting the Indo-Pacific region is completely unfounded." She added, "We are deepening economic ties with the Indo-Pacific region," and "this brings tremendous potential economic benefits to both the U.S. and the Indo-Pacific region."

She outlined three pillars of the Indo-Pacific economic strategy: ▲ expanding trade and investment ▲ strengthening economic resilience ▲ cooperating on global challenges.

Secretary Yellen explained, "Trade between the U.S. and the Indo-Pacific region has steadily increased over the past decade, reaching $2.28 trillion in 2022," and "despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it has grown by more than 25% since 2019." She continued, "Combining goods and services, the U.S. exported about $770 billion to the Asia-Pacific region in 2022," emphasizing that "this accounts for one-quarter of U.S. exports."

She described the Indo-Pacific region as "dynamic and rapidly growing," and stated, "We are pursuing economic integration with the Indo-Pacific region while protecting national security interests through targeted measures when necessary."

Regarding supply chain issues, she mentioned 'friendshoring' (allied supply chain solidarity) and said the U.S. is seeking multilateral engagement in the Indo-Pacific region. She also reiterated that the economic policy toward China aims for 'de-risking' rather than 'decoupling.' The key objectives include ▲ securing national security interests and promoting human rights ▲ pursuing healthy relationships ▲ addressing climate change and debt issues.

She said, "National security issues are non-negotiable," but added, "when taking actions using economic means, we narrow the focus of our objectives."

She also expressed hope for the possibility of holding a U.S.-Korea-Japan Treasury Ministers' meeting.

Referring to the trilateral Camp David summit among the U.S., Korea, and Japan, Secretary Yellen said, "The Biden administration is pursuing collective efforts with Korea and Japan to strengthen each country's supply chains," and added, "I look forward to the first U.S.-Korea-Japan Treasury Ministers' meeting being held next year."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.